Venga is a Spanish bar and restaurant. But Portishead style. So next to the Estrella Damm beer from Barcelona, there is Thatcher’s Gold cider from Sandford.
This is a new business on the High Street that isn’t trying to be completely authentic. And it’s all the better for it, far removed from the idea of a typical bar portrayed by the La Tasca chain.
I visited on Saturday afternoon before 6pm, which meant that they were not yet serving hot food.
So instead we were offered a selection of the cold tapas, which included marinated artichokes and manchego cheese, anchovies, and thin slices of serrano ham from legs hanging up to cure like in every bar in the Iberian peninsula.
It was a tasty selection, all the better to be washed down by a glass or two of Rioja in Portishead’s thoroughly enjoyable version of Spain.
Venga, 24 High Street, Portishead, BS20 6EN. 01275 814391.
